Five arrested for leaking NEET- 2 exam paper

7/25/2016

Five people were arrested by Ramnagar and Haldwani police on Sunday for leaking the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) Phase 2 paper.

The question paper was changed last minute by the management after being informed of the leak by Nainital police on Saturday night, senior superintendent of police, Nainital, Sweety Aggarwal said.

The NEET Phase 2 was conducted amid tight security at examination centres across the country on Sunday morning. About 4,500 people gave the exam at seven centres in Haldwani.

Those arrested were identified by police as Sanjay Kumar Prabhat of Sheikhpura and Ajay Sinha of Rohtas (both in Bihar), and Nishat Ahmed of Delhi. On questioning, the trio revealed the names of Dinesh Prasad of Patna and Vikas Kumar of Chhapra (also in Bihar), who were arrested from Sindhi Chauraha in Haldwani.

Around 40 students have reportedly confessed to paying between Rs 10 to 40 lakh for the leaked question paper.

Circle officer, Ramnagar, Swatantra Kumar said they were intimated of the leak by informers, who claimed that an interstate gang was operating in the region, offering candidates the NEET-2 question paper. The gang members had allegedly received the money in advance.

Police tracked down a group of candidates from Bihar staying at a resort in Ramnagar with their parents. The leaked paper was to be given to them on Saturday night, before they were driven to Haldwani, where their examination centres were located.

Undercover officers were able to infiltrate the resort, and the accused were caught red-handed while distributing the leaked paper.

The students from Bihar said they chose Haldwani as the location of their examination centre because the region was suffering a natural calamity and they thought the authorities would have had their hands full, making it easy for them to get away with scam.